Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2003 | 10:50 a.m.
One of Las Vegas' most respected, honored and tenacious reporters, longtime KLAS Channel 8 sleuth George Knapp , is in serious talks to host a national investigative television show.
"It's an exciting prospect," Knapp told VegasBeat. "I don't think there is any other local reporter in the country with his own network program. Las Vegas, as we all know, is redhot as a setting for TV projects."
"George Knapp's Las Vegas Files: Otherworld and Underworld" would focus on, and advance, some of the stories Knapp has reported on during his long career.
"There would be the mob, crime and corruption stuff, as well as some of my more exotic pursuits like Area 51, cattle mutilations, things of that sort."
The project came to fruition after Knapp was approached by veteran producers and screenwriters Richard Chapman and Tom Matthews. Like a lot of us, they had seen Knapp's work on TV and liked it.
Chapman's credits include Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for producing HBO's 2002 film "Live From Baghdad," starring Michael Keaton, about CNN's coverage of the first Gulf War.
Among other credits, Matthews penned the screenplay for the Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta movie "Mad City," which focused on journalistic ethics and excesses.
"They came to a conclusion that my unique niche in the Las Vegas journalism community might be the stuff of a TV series," Knapp said. Last month Knapp filmed a short promotional reel, which Matthews and Chapman and the production house Murphy Entertainment Group took shopping.
So far, Knapp reports, there have been productive meetings with Court TV, the Discovery Channel, A&E and the Learning Channel. "Everyone ... expressed some interest in it," Knapp said.
Conga!
Not a slight to Celine Dion, whom we adore, but the Gloria Estefan show at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace was possibly the best live show we've seen this year.
Estefan's charisma is undeniable, her interaction with the audience is genuine and often emotional, and Kenny Ortega's staging is vastly more appealing than Franco Dragone's confusing and busy "A New Day ..." choreography.
Part of the appeal is that much of the large stage features her 18 musicians, so there is a lot less room for Estefan and the dancers to cavort.
Unlike Mariah Carey, who spent half of her Colosseum show offstage changing outfits, Estefan comfortably performed in her jeans and a jacket with "Cuba" stitched on the back. No need here for fans to be distracted/entertained by snazzy clothes or a sea of background dancers.
Also, the less-is-more theory was applied to the massive LED screen behind the stage. There were simple images used for Estefan, such as a pier extending into a gentle blue sea, again putting the focus on Estefan and her powerful voice.
Estefan's gig continues through Sunday, but she'll be back. Show producer Bernie Yuman told us that Estefan loves the venue and the response to her shows and plans to become a more frequent Vegas visitor.
Familiar place
Not only does the window near VegasBeat's desk look out on the Green Valley Ranch Station Casino, but the property seems to be everywhere else these days, too.
It is clearly recognizable in several scenes in the new George Clooney/Catherine Zeta-Jones film, "Intolerable Cruelty."
Also this fall, a trailer for the NBC casino drama "Las Vegas" was filmed there, as were scenes from "CSI," "Malcolm in the Middle," "Diva Detectives" (Women's Entertainment Network) and three on The Learning Channel -- "Vegas Whales," "A Wedding Story" and "A Dating Story."
"It is exciting that Henderson will be seen in so many popular TV shows" and films, said Lisa Jolley, executive director of the Henderson Convention and Visitors Bureau.
VegasBits
Media Bit I: A&E is rushing to put together a "Biography" episode on Siegfried & Roy. It taped some local interviews Tuesday -- Robin Leach was first up. The network hopes to get the hour on the air within one month ...
Media Bit II: The influential showbiz trade Weekly Variety has a lukewarm review of the adult-oriented New York-New York Cirque du Soleil show "Zumanity" in the current edition. The piece was especially critical of show emcee Joey Arias ...
Media Bit III: The current TV Week magazine has an item that claims failed California gubernatorial candidate -- and adult-film star -- Mary Carey is using her $21,200 in prize money from a recent Game Show Network appearance to fund a Las Vegas act for herself ...
Farewell redux: Cher returns to the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Jan. 2 and Jan. 3. Opening for her is KC & the Sunshine Band and the Village People (really!). Tickets, priced from $75 to $225, go on sale Saturday ...
Camp: The first "Art & Innocence" fund-raiser to benefit Project Sunshine, which sends special-needs kids to summer camp, is scheduled for Saturday at the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum at The Venetian. Sprint exec Lou Emmert is chairing the event and Mark Brown will host. Wolfgang Puck is providing the food to supporters, including real estate types Jim Stuart and Brett Torino. Call (702) 434-3699 for tickets and additional info ...
From Sun wires
Karl Malden, an Academy Award winner for "A Streetcar Named Desire," will receive a lifetime achievement honor from the Screen Actors Guild.
The award, given for career accomplishments and humanitarian efforts, will be presented to the 91-year-old Malden at the guild's annual acting honors on Feb. 22.
Osbourne postpones tour: Ozzy Osbourne has postponed a planned European tour until next year because of effects of a medication he is taking to treat tremors.
Osbourne said in a statement released Tuesday that he was advised by his doctor to delay the tour, which was to have kicked off Oct. 22 in Dublin. The former frontman for heavy metal group Black Sabbath said the tremors were "practically destroying my life along with my self-esteem."
Stewart seeks separation: Actor Patrick Stewart, who played Capt. Jean-Luc Picard on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," is seeking a legal separation from his wife.
Stewart, 63, and Wendy Neuss-Stewart, who have no children, were married in August 2000, the filing said.
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